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I hope this question isn't too dumb, but I was wondering whether I've correctly understood the coal loading options. My working notion is this: * Flood loaded - automated unit train loading, suitable for contemporary layouts * Freshly loaded multi-hump - non-automated, loaded by tipple, suitable for steam-era, transition, and early diesel era layouts * Non-fresh-loaded multi-hump -- partial collapse of humps due to road vibration? * Lump coal - large size, obviously. Applications? I just got my first Hay Brothers loads - Scrap #2 for my Athearn 65' mill gondolas. WOW. --B.
Thanks for the Link the loads look great. Guess I'll have to support the hobby within my own state huh:tb-cool:
You've mixed the type of coal with the loading method. For example, a tipple can sort out different types of coal to load into the tracks below (of course, they can also be all the same). Flood loaded coal is like a giant slushie machine, so the coal will be fine. Newer coal plants generally use very fine coal because it's blown into the fires. After coal is loaded it's in neat piles, then lotsa shaking makes the piles blend out (not as much as slushie flood loaders though). Trainworks loads look like vinyl and fake as all get out, but they are actually very accurate for today's coal. It's a good rule of thumb that the bigger the lumps the older the era...
"* Non-fresh-loaded multi-hump -- partial collapse of humps due to road vibration?" --Or just loaded that way at a tipple or truck dump facility. Seen just about everywhere. "* Lump coal - large size, obviously. Applications?" --Today...Lump Coal (Also called Raw Coal) is typical of Bituminous coal we see from mainly Eastern mines. (Usually found in the area from bounded by Missouri to Central Pennsylvania and Central Michigan to Northern Alabama). Normally this load is originated at smaller mines that do not have a crushing/sorting facility. (most of the current photos we have of these loads in TopGons were taken at LaPorte Indiana but I'm thinking that is because the photog lives near there..??). It appears to be loaded by a front end loader or at a truck dumping facility in that area (very irregular piles in the cars). The larger chunks are loaded in with finer coal and as the finer coal settles into the car the "lumps" are left at the top of the load and that is what we see. The cars are typically gathered up and routed to a cleaning/processing facility and either broken down to smaller sizes or just processed as 'special' lump coal and sent to distributors. It has a limited market today as compared to 30-40 years ago but is used just about everywhere....export, gasification, heat production, scrap melting and stoker coal for antique steam tractors to name just a few. Tony is correct...In the old days....Lump coal was defined as coal chunks > 4-3/8 inches in diameter. Today...it's just the bigger stuff...